April 06, 2006
Point / Counterpoint
This whole kerfuffle is much ado about a hair-do. It's not about me decking a racist police officer for inappropriately grabbing my arm when I tried to rush through security on my way to an important meeting. It's not about whether or not I was wearing my indentifying lapel pin. It's about my, and any other members', faces being recognized by the security officials. Why should I have to stop and identify myself when I am one of only 535 members of Congress? No. Clearly this is a case of bold-faced harrassment of a black, female, wild-eyed, slightly overweight member of Congress.
They can say all they want about how I may have strutted arrogantly through the checkpoint. Or how I may or may not have turned, swung and clocked the police officer with my fist wrapped around my cellphone. Have you ever been distracted by someone, or something, like a mangy dog, a jack-booted cop or on-coming traffic while you were gabbing on the phone? It's scary. It takes you aback!
They can say all they want about my alledged reaction to being stopped in my single-minded, tunnel-visioned tracks. But, the fact of the matter is that there is a well-closetted Masonic-like secret cabal who single out certain members of Government for the sole purpose of causing us to be late for meetings. What other explanation is there?!
But I will not stand and be treated like a second-class Congresswoman. If the Capitol Police Department wants to file charges then I intend to storm the gate even harder next time because I need to get to my meetings so's that I can do the important work that my constituents elected me to do and they better not try and stop me.
This is all about the future, not my hair.
Allow me to take you on a trip down Memory Lane.
Once upon a time there was a man named Judge Kenneth Starr. Judge Starr got some information that I may have had some people secure a job at the United Nations for a Miss Monica Lewinsky. He learned that there was a claim, in the Paula Jones case, that Monica and I had had a sexual relationship, and that this was a "jobs for silence" episode reminiscent of the alledged Web Hubbell "jobs for silence" aspect of the Whitewater investigations.
Now, since I had made up my mind that any sexual relationship I'd had with that woman, Miss Lewinsky, would remain undisclosed, I simply denied it and had my aides deny it as well. In fact, I famously had James Carville publicly declare "war on Ken Starr".
Now, think about that for a moment. Do you honestly believe that Ken Starr was the least bit interested in whether or not I had a tryst or two with that silly portly intern? To him it was all about conspiracy, behavior, and how it related to Whitewater. But I decided to make it about sex and the politics of personal destruction. I made a mistake. All I and my vocal defenders accomplished was to unfairly, and very publicly, impuning Judge Starr's character, motivations and evidence. But he had the goods on me and he knew it, and I left him no alternative but to clear his own name and to save his reputation.
And I paid for it. Big time.
So, Ms. McKinney, before you dig yourself in any deeper, keep these things in mind: The incident is on videotape; there are many eye-witnesses to the altercation; the Capitol Police Department will defend their honor against any unfair accusations including, especially, those of racial profiling.
If you are right then fight on. But you'd better be right, or else you'll only pay more dearly in the end than you would have if you'd appologized outright and let them just let the whole matter drop.
Posted by Tuning Spork at April 6, 2006 06:00 PM | TrackBack
